About TUQ

What's TUQ?

Like an eccentrically-sited camera taking angle-shots that distort but may often reveal otherwise masked lineaments of truth, the deaf person watches from the unexpected and unguarded quarter. David Wright Deafness Stein & Day, New York, 1969, p111

TUQ = The Unguarded Quarter

Lots of things, with an obvious slant towards deafness. It covers hearing impairment, disability at some stage, media, other things as well. The Unguarded Quarter continues my life-long exploration of deafness.

Why deafness?

It's endlessly fascinating. If you take any slice of life, and look at it through a deaf lens, you often get something no-one's thought of before. Deafness is a rich and wholly unknown part of the human condition. I think most deaf people reach their own accommodation about being deaf, and in doing so, bring their own particular insights to the vast and colourful tapestry. It means the politics of deafness is never static. Deaf people themselves don't necessarily agree on matters, and even well-intentioned hearing people sometimes leave me speechless. It's infuriating, exasperating, hilarious, and most of all, fascinating.

The Weekly Blog

The late Ben Souter stood at the intersection of the Deaf community and Auslan interpreters I knew Ben, not well, but well enough. I would sometimes encounter him on the train between Melbourne and Castlemaine. He had a place out in Drummond, near Kyneton in central Victoria. His eyes would light up when he saw […]

The online insults anonymous keyboard warriors hurl at Deaf people are not really about deafness. If you are reading this now, hands up if you think there is nothing particularly wrong with being Deaf. Or if you think a lack of interest in a cure for deafness is perfectly reasonable. Or if you think attitudes […]

What people are saying…

“Uniacke wants to get across basic facts about the history of Deaf culture — including the very fact that there is a long standing history."Mike Northen – Wordgathering

“The book does contain beautiful evocations of what it’s like not to hear fully and not fit in as a result. "Raymond Luczak – Wordgathering

Latest Essay

Did Henry Lawson create idyllic scenes of yarns around campfires because he was deaf and could not take part in them?
IF HENRY Lawson was alive today, what would he say at a press conference? For … Read On...